2018 Weedpatch

Words by two-time Grammy-winning storyteller BILL HARLEY
Music by Stanford University Professor PAUL PHILLIPS
Directed by David Bass and Kathy Lindsay
Choreography by Rachel Zimmerman
Photography by David Rabkin
Logo by Jen Fuchel

This exciting and beautiful new opera is set at the historical Weedpatch school,
built and run by determined Oklahoma migrants who show resilience and humor
in the face of hardship and hostility from the settled Californians.
[SYNOPSIS with demo MP3s]
Links about Weedpatch HERE, HERE, and HERE

All performances were at:
The Peabody School (Directions, map, parking)
70 Rindge Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140

Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 3:00pm and 7:00pm
Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 1:00pm and 5:00pm
Saturday, March 24, 2018 at 3:00pm and 7:00pm
Sunday, March 25, 2018 at 1:00pm and 5:00pm
SEE WHEN YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS PERFORMED!

View/Download a publicity flyer HERE
Program booklet available by request

CLICK HERE for the VIDEOS (bottom of page)

Principal Soloists
Show 3 (left)	Show 4 (right)	Role
Tess Carney	Sophia Teller	Sarah Rondell
Jeff Moore	Tom Hamill	Cal Rondell, Sarah's father
Kathy Lindsay	Laura Gill	Agnes Rondell, Sarah's grandmother
Nyx Bigler	Julia Teller	Patty, Sarah’s best friend
Ilan Balzac	Riley McKinney	Willy, Sarah's suitor
Aimee Yermish	Katie Hamill	Leo Hart, Superintendent of Schools
Mark Bildman	Nate Burket	James Callahan, teacher at Weedpatch
Emma Adler	Nicole McElhoe	Nora Borden, principal of Weedpatch
Emilija Baksys	Sue Holcomb	Professor Ruth Crawford
Katarina Dvornik	Fiona O'Loughlin	Abby, an eager young singer
Jill Pelavin Margery Meadow Jeff Bigler Jason Merrill	Emilija Baksys Leetka Katzenblickstein Megan Morse Craig Burket	KERN COUNTY CITIZENS COMMITTEE: Mrs. Rumpole Mrs. Havisham-Fawlty Mr(s). Gilbert-Sullivan Mr. Rackstraw

It is 1940, and migrants escaping the Oklahoma Dust Bowl during the Great Depression have settled at the Arvin Federal Migrant Camp near Bakersfield, California.

Listen to / Watch All the Way from Oklahoma, with solos by Chloe Duggan, Maya Agam, Tom Gould, Sara Verrilli, Lena Gorelik, and Alice Merrill Hunter	Listen to / Watch All the Way from Oklahoma, with solos by Vivianna Jones Tandon, Katie Leiserson, Rick Nilsson, Ruth Rogers, Rachel Cooper, and Merilee Jewett

Local residents look disdainfully on the Okies and skeptically on the school they established to teach their migrant children.

Listen to / Watch I Have Seen Enough sung by the Kern County Citizens Committee with additional solos by Leo Pettenuzzo and Kate Berelowitch. Dancers: Jessica Cashdan, Oriana McKanan, Liz Morse, Julie Viens	Listen to / Watch I Have Seen Enough sung by the Kern County Citizens Committee with additional solos by Zayaan Mamun and Theo Gillig. Dancers: Eloise Botka, Julie McKinney, Ruth Rogers, Rachel Zimmerman

James Callahan arrives to teach math and music to Oklahoma migrants at the school. The children he encounters explain that the Arvin Camp and its school have come to be known as Weedpatch.

Listen to / Watch We're Weedpatch sung by James, Willy, and the chorus, with additional solos by Birikti Kahsai, Alice Merrill Hunter, Lena Gorelik, Leo Pettenuzzo, Kate Berelowitch, Chloe Duggan, and Maya Agam	Listen to / Watch We're Weedpatch sung by James, Willy, and the chorus, with additional solos by Sophia Nilsson, Merilee Jewett, Rachel Cooper, Zayaan Mamun, Theo Gillig, Vivianna Jones Tandon, and Katie Leiserson

Leo Hart, the Kern County School Superintendent, greets James and expounds on the origin of the school.

Listen to / Watch We Built This School sung by James, Leo, and the chorus, with additional solos by Kate Berelowitch and Davide Pettenuzzo	Listen to / Watch We Built This School sung by James, Leo, and the chorus, with additional solos by Theo Gillig and Louis Jones Tandon

Leo introduces James to Nora Borden, the principal of the school. Nora has Sarah Rondell sing for James, and everyone joins in. James is impressed, but Cal, Sarah’s father, disapproves and orders her home.

Listen to / Watch Wayfaring Stranger sung by James, Leo, Nora, Sarah, Patty, and the chorus, with additional solos by Leo Pettenuzzo, Maya Agam, and Chloe Duggan	Listen to / Watch Wayfaring Stranger sung by James, Leo, Nora, Sarah, Patty, and the chorus, with additional solos by Zayaan Mamun, Katie Leiserson, and Vivianna Jones Tandon

Inside her family’s tent, Sarah tells her grandmother Agnes how excited she is that James believes in her talent.

Listen to / Watch He Said That I Could Sing sung by Sarah and Agnes	Listen to / Watch He Said That I Could Sing sung by Sarah and Agnes

Cal berates Sarah for not doing her chores. He is bitter that his wife Laura died during their journey to California and that he now faces so much hardship. Cal doesn’t like it when Sarah sings because she sounds just like Laura, and Sarah agrees not to.

Listen to / Watch It Ain't That Easy sung by Cal, Sarah, and Agnes	Listen to / Watch It Ain't That Easy sung by Cal, Sarah, and Agnes

Sarah commiserates with her best friend, Patty.

Listen to / Watch Someone I Can Count On sung by Patty and Sarah	Listen to / Watch Someone I Can Count On sung by Patty and Sarah

Leo tells James and Nora that he believes that featuring the new Weedpatch Chorus at the upcoming Kern County Talent Show will convince the community of the worth of the Okies. James is enthusiastic, but Nora is skeptical.

Listen to / Watch A Song's the Thing sung by Leo, James, and Nora	Listen to / Watch A Song's the Thing sung by Leo, James, and Nora

The chorus enters, and three kids greet the adults. James tells Patty to get Sarah, and the chorus practices “Our Promised Land” by the celebrated Gus Monroe. Sarah arrives, very reluctant. Joseph and Abby each sing a verse of “Away, Far Away,” but when it's Sarah's turn, the song reminds her of her mother. She is overcome with emotion and runs off.

Listen to / Watch Our Promised Land / Away Far Away sung by Leo, James, Nora, Patty, Sarah, and the chorus, with additional solos by Adam Gould, Gal Agam, Hadar Agam, and Chris Edel as Joseph.	Listen to / Watch Our Promised Land / Away Far Away sung by Leo, James, Nora, Patty, Sarah, and the chorus, with additional solos by Julianna Jones Tandon, Aytan Hamill, Sophia Nilsson, and Charles Leiserson as Joseph.

James enters the Rondell tent to convince Cal to let Sarah develop her talent, but Cal is suspicious. Agnes intervenes, attempting to soften Cal’s animosity. Cal relents and agrees to let Sarah sing at the Talent Show.

Listen to / Watch You Don't Know / There's Got to Be More sung by James, Cal, and Agnes	Listen to / Watch You Don't Know / There's Got to Be More sung by James, Cal, and Agnes

At the Talent Show in Bakersfield, parents from the town and from the camp keep their distance from each other, even as their kids Tammy/Timmy and Ruthie try to mingle and play. Leo and his co-emcee introduce the performers: first ballet dancers, then jugglers. Willy, his friend Bobby from the Camp, and three young ruffians from Town taunt the performers and each other. The Weedpatch Chorus sings “Bright Morning Stars,” and Sarah sings beautifully at first, but falters at the line, “Oh where are our dear mothers?”

Listen to / Watch The Talent Show sung by the entire cast, with Jessica Cashdan and Liz Morse as Town parents; Abbe Cohen Dvornik and Bill Laskin as Camp parents; Meredith Gast as Tammy; Verity Gould as Ruthie; Beth Hocking as the Emcee; Joanne Nicklas, Julie Viens, and Hannah Erickson as Town ruffians; and Yifei Sun as Bobby. Dancers: Chloe Duggan, Dina Gorelik, and Birikti Kahsai. Jugglers: Meredith Gast and Leo Pettenuzzo.	Listen to / Watch The Talent Show sung by the entire cast, with Danny Scibelli and Sara St. Antoine as Town parents; Rachel Zimmerman and John Kernochan as Camp parents; Walter Hopwood as Timmy; Sophie Hopwood as Ruthie; Glenn McElhoe as the Emcee; Ben Jerome, Eoin Rogers, and Eloise Botka as Town ruffians; and Melanie Cohn-Hopwood as Bobby. Dancers: Laima Jerome, Katie Leiserson, and Sophia Nilsson. Jugglers: Sophie Hopwood and Kostas Jerome.

When Sarah falters, the Town ruffians mock her, and Willy begins a fight. A policeman arrests Willy and sends the Okies back to Arvin. A furious Cal tells Sarah never to sing again.

Listen to / Watch The Melee sung by the entire cast, with Jessica Cashdan as a Town parent; Hannah Erickson, Julie Viens, and Joanne Nicklas as Town ruffians; and Dan McKanan as the policeman.	Listen to / Watch The Melee sung by the entire cast, with Eloise Botka, Eoin Rogers, and Ben Jerome as Town ruffians; and Alec McKinney as the policeman.

Four children find a dime and dream of what they might spend it on.

Listen to / Watch If I Had a Dime sung by Oriana McKanan, Kerry LaRose, Dina Gorelik, and Marin Manoach	Listen to / Watch If I Had a Dime sung by Eloise Botka, Anya Miller, Addie Kelsey, and Nicci Stamos

Outside the Rondell tent, Willy arrives and tells Sarah excitedly about his night in jail, after which he rambled around California. Willy asks Sarah to run off with him, but Sarah is ambivalent.

Listen to / Watch I Seen a Big World sung by Willy, Sarah, and Agnes	Listen to / Watch I Seen a Big World sung by Willy, Sarah, and Agnes

Agnes tells Sarah to believe in herself and her dreams.

Listen to / Watch There's Nothing Wrong with Dreams sung by Sarah and Agnes	Listen to / Watch There's Nothing Wrong with Dreams sung by Sarah and Agnes

James bursts in on Nora’s classroom, to her great consternation. Undeterred, James tells her about a letter he has just received from Professor Ruth Crawford, his former professor at Berkeley. The professor’s son Pete is coming to Weedpatch with Gus Monroe! The kids and staff at the school are totally psyched. James tells Nora of his plan to feature Pete and Gus in a concert with the Weedpatch Chorus in three days. Nora is opposed, but James convinces her to agree to the concert.

Listen to / Watch Don't Tell Us No, Miss Borden, sung by James, Nora, and the chorus, with additional solos by Ella Lehrich, Anastasia Miller, and Esther Fu.	Listen to / Watch Don't Tell Us No, Miss Borden, sung by James, Nora, and the chorus, with additional solos by Polina Danielyan, Keiara Hunter, and Merilee Jewett.

James prepares to rehearse the Weedpatch Chorus for the upcoming concert. The chorus is over the moon at the thought of performing for Gus Monroe, but Sarah refuses to sing.

Listen to / Watch On the Radio sung by James, Leo, Nora, Sarah, Patty, Abby, and the chorus, with additional solos by Juli Berndt, Meredith Gast, Eliza Weinberger, Maya Agam, and Hannah Erickson	Listen to / Watch On the Radio sung by James, Leo, Nora, Sarah, Patty, Abby, and the chorus, with additional solos by Laima Jerome, Lindsey Miller, Kostas Jerome, Katie Leiserson, and Hima Saini

As the chorus rehearses, Sarah can’t help herself and joins in. Everyone praises Sarah, but Cal enters and furiously reminds Sarah that she must never again sing.

Listen to / Watch Who Will Sing This Song sung by Abby, Sarah, Cal, Nora, James, Willy, Cal, and the chorus	Listen to / Watch Who Will Sing This Song sung by Abby, Sarah, Cal, Nora, James, Willy, Cal, and the chorus

James and Nora share how committed they are to helping Sarah through her plight.

Listen to / Watch I Want to Be There sung by Nora and James	Listen to / Watch I Want to Be There sung by Nora and James

The Weedpatch Community Hall is abuzz. Professor Crawford is there, but Cal refuses to let Sarah sing for her, despite James's pleas. Willy continues to pressure Sarah to run off with him. Pete and Gus are late, to the consternation of Leo and Ruth.

Listen to / Watch Best Laid Plans sung by the whole cast and chorus	Listen to / Watch Best Laid Plans sung by the whole cast and chorus

The School Board members express their impatience and their disapproval of Gus Monroe. In desperation Leo asks James to lead the chorus in a song. Sarah is torn, but finally decides to sing. The chorus again sings “Bright Morning Stars” and again Sarah falters at “Oh where are our dear mothers?” This time, Cal rises and sings from where she left off. Others stand and join in, one by one, until everyone is singing.

Listen to / Watch Bright Morning Stars (reprise) sung by the whole cast and chorus	Listen to / Watch Bright Morning Stars (reprise) sung by the whole cast and chorus

Celebration ensues. Ruth offers Sarah a scholarship to Berkeley, and her family implores her to go. Meanwhile, the School Board tells Leo they will generously fund the Weedpatch School. Finally Pete and Gus arrive, and they lead everyone in a final rendition of “Our Promised Land.”

Listen to / Watch Our Promised Land (reprise) sung by the whole cast and chorus, with Chris Edel as Gus Monroe and introducing David Bass as Pete Crawford.	Listen to / Watch Our Promised Land (reprise) sung by the whole cast and chorus, with Glenn McElhoe as Gus Monroe and introducing David Bass as Pete Crawford.